At the beginning of the post a small riddle: What's inside of this package?

A bit stupid question, isn't it? What else could be in a package from a post called 'book haul'. Of course there are books inside. But how many? What books exactly? And why are they wrapped?

Also the answer to the last question reveals the very title of this post. It's a gift. However, it is a bit of a brain-teaser to find the answers to both of the prior questions. An experienced bookworm could possibly guess the first one correctly. However, it is almost impossible to find the answer to the second one at this stage. That's why I won't keep you in suspense any longer and I am going to reveal the answer to both questions with only one single picture.

There are, or better said, there were (at the time of writing of this post, the package has already been opened and the books are on the other end of Slovakia) two masterful books in the package: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I gave the package to my mother. There's still plenty of time till any of her celebrations, but as a bookworm I've been mesmerized by both books so much that I couldn't wait any longer and I simply had to get them for her. I've read both books in English (at the time of writing of this post I am finishing The Book Thief). Actually, I prefer to read all books written by English writing authors rather in the original. And this is where the problem emerges for my mother, always regretting that she is unable to read my books, because she doesn't speak English.

After reading The Goldfinch in English, I cannot wait for the end of May, when Slovak translation of the book has finally been published, and I could please my mother with it.

I was mesmerized by The Book Thief after few pages and when I've noticed that one of our Slovak publishers called Ikar is celebrating its 25th birthday with 12% discount on their books, I knew that this is the right time to provide my mom with another excellent reading.

Obe knihy majú okrem (v tomto prípade) spoločného balenia, spoločné aj niečo viac. Liesel z filmovej verzie na obale knihy má takmer identický pohľad ako stehlík pripútaný retiazkou ku kŕmidlu. Pohľad spútanosti tragickými udalosťami, ktoré nemožno ovplyvniť, či už je to vojna alebo teroristický útok. Obe hlavné postavy: Theo Donny Tarttovej a Liesel Markusa Zusaka majú niečo, na čom doslova lipnú: Liesel knihy a Theo obraz. No a ešte jedna spoločná črta: obe knihy sú majstrovsky napísané.
/Both books have, besides (in this case) one package, also something more in common. Liesel from the movie adaptation on the cover of the book has almost identical sight with the goldfinch chained up to its feeder. The sight of confinement by tragic circumstances, they are unable to influence or change, whether it is war or a terrorist attack. Both main characters: Tartt's Theo or Zusak's Liesel have something they stick to: Liesel has books and Theo his picture. And both books are masterfully written. And another common feature: both books are masterfully written.

Už teraz som si istá, že Stehlík a Zlodejka kníh budú patriť k mojim knižným hviezdam tohto roka a dúfam, že rovnako si ich obľúbi aj moja mama.
/Even now I am completely sure that The Goldfinch and The Book Thief are going to shine among my bookish stars of this year, and I hope that my mother will enjoy them as well.